A variety of applications benefit from protection of residents, employees, personal property, and the like, by using security monitoring systems within facilities, e.g., to monitor and/or sense certain conditions such as a facility-operations problem or the presence of an unwanted intruder. Many such security systems are connected to a central control unit and monitored by an operator who can alert the appropriate emergency services in the event of an unwanted intruder. Often, a home monitoring security system includes a combination of sensing devices and alarm devices and some also include cameras. To achieve the maximum monitoring coverage, these devices are distributed throughout the interior of the facility.
Security systems that employ cameras are advantageous in that they are able to record any and all activity associated with a suspected breach of the facility. In some instances, however, the cameras record the regular activities of the facilities' residents and/or employees. The cameras also record activities that are falsely perceived to be security breaches such as pet behaviors and authorized users that have been accidentally locked out.
In specific situations, such as those having the potential to violate the privacy of authorized residents and/or employees of the facility, such comprehensive recordation by the security cameras may be undesirable. Since unwanted intruders could breach the security of a facility while the inhabitants are present, it is necessary for the security monitoring system to be functioning at all times. However, having cameras constantly being triggered to record inhabitants' daily living and working routines is a dramatic invasion of the inhabitants' privacy, especially considering false triggers. Further, the monitoring and recording of guests' activities can be just as invasive.
While numerous cameras and motion detectors are generally necessary to provide proper security coverage of a residence or facility, the size and frequent placement of the devices are burdensome to install and maintain and are aesthetically unpleasant. Each room or area in a facility typically requires both a motion detector and a camera, and large areas may require more combinations. The sizes of these devices render their presence in a facility obvious. Moreover a full-facility security system typically requires installation of several system components including wiring for communications and power between cooperative units within the system.
Implementing small detectors and cameras presents a host of problems. For security reasons, ease of installation and flexibility of a system, it is a disadvantage to require the detectors and cameras to be electrically connected to other components. More specifically, detectors and cameras that operate using an external power source, such as an electrical outlet, can be circumvented by removing the power source. This presents a number of security weaknesses in the overall system. Moreover, reliance on an external power source often complicates the installation process because the installation requires a connection to the external power source. This may require routing of wires carrying power to the detectors and cameras. Small devices have the additional problem of not having space to include large independent power sources, such as batteries. Accordingly, the functionality and time between charging of the devices is often sacrificed for size. For example, many wireless communications protocols drain batteries and other power sources rapidly. Other power hungry portions of cameras and detectors include the camera, the detector, image processing and illumination devices. These and other problems have hampered the implementation of small, portable cameras and detectors used in security applications.
The above-discussed issues have presented challenges to developing a home and/or facility security monitoring system that provides maximum coverage while minimizing one or more of the above-identified issues.